Device for clearing snow from the path of an automobile



I. BONlC Aug. 31, 1965 DEVICE FOR CLEARING SNOW FROM THE PATH OF ANAUTOMOBILE Filed Feb. 6

BY Add, My m ATTOFNEYf United States Patent 3,203,118 DEVICE FORCLEARING SNOW FROM THE PATH 0F AN AUTOMOBILE Isaac Bonic, 3000 N. 54thSt., Milwaukee, Wis. Filed Feb. 6, 1963, Ser. No. 256,768 4 Claims. (Cl.37-53) This invention relates to a device tor clearing snow trom thepath of an automobile .wheeL- The device herein disclosed is animprovement upon the device disclosed in my companion application SerialNo. 54,-519 filed Sept. 7, 1960 now Patent No. 3,088,230.

As in the companion application above identified, the broad objective ofthe present device is to provide a simple and effective means ofclearing snow and ice trom in :tiront of a vehicle wheel to provide ashort, snowtree path to facilitate getting the vehicle into motion. Forclearing sofit snow or unfrozen slush, the device operates as a scraperand is formed to extend beneath the curve of the tire casing nearly tothe area of road contact. For removing frozen or semi-frozen material,the device operates as a chisel whose blade may be swung in an arc towhich the handle is radial or which may be pushed forward in the planeof the handle.

To facilitate scraping action, as well as to stiiien the bladelongitudinally, chisel shoes are transversely aligned with each other atopposite faces of the blade and they extend reauwardly from the chiseledges. These shoes are .fabricatcd of sheet metal in the instant deviceand the sheet metal iorms concave scrapers at each side of the lowermargin of the blade, portions of the sheet metal shoes being bent towardeach other at the blade margin to produce the desired chisel edges.

The blade handle is adjustable to project laterally to either side orrearwardly from its connection with the top of the blade. A specialbracket is tolded from sheet material to provide a generally fiat bedspanning the top of the blade. the margins of the bracket being securedto each other through the bed.

Mounted in the bed portion of the bracket is an upwardly extending boltequipped with a wing nut. The handle has a terminal head which ispreferably designed so that it may also serve as a chisel for removingice. It has a broad flat surface complementary to the bed provided bythe bracket and it is notched from its chisel edge to receive theupstanding bolt. Protu-berances embossed upwardly in the bed portion ofthe bracket at regular angular intervals are received into correspondingsockets. When the protuberances are engaged in the sockets in a selectedangular adjustment of the handle respecting the blade, the tightening ofthe wing not on the bolt will hold the chisel head of the handlesecurely engaged with the bracket in the desired handle position.

in the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective showing a device embodying theinvention.

FIG. 2 is a somewhat enlarged side elevation of the device shown in FIG.1, portions of the handle being broken away.

FIG. 3 is a view taken in section on the line 3-6 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the device shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a greatly enlarged tragmentary perspective view of the handlemounting bracket.

FIG. '6 is a view on the scale of FIG. 5 showing the inverted chiselhead terminus of the handle, the rest of the handle being broken away.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary detail view in perspective showing a modifiedembodiment of the invention.

A scraper embodying the invention comprises a blade 10 having asubstantially horizontal lower edge reenforced by connect-ion therewithof the concave shoeice torming strips 12 and 14 which are held by rivets'16 or otherwise laminated at their upper edges in face contact with theblade and which have laterally directed and preferably sharpened loweredges 18.

At its front end the blade extends forwardly with an upper margin '20 ata sharply acute angle to the bottom of the blade so that it is capableof extending beneath the periphery of an automobile tire. Generallytriangular portions 22 of the scrapers 12 and 14 are preferably turnedinwardly as best shown in FIG. 4 and constitute transversely disposedflanges convergent toward each other and the intervening blade andwelded at 24 to the blade margin to form chisel shoes. There may bespaced at 2-6 between these shoes, since the scrapers 12 and 14 arepartially below the level oi blade 10 and the chisel edges are,therefore, found in a zone in which no portion of the blade 10intervenes.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the front end portions 220 and 221 ofthe scraper blades 120 and 140 are simply pressed together upon theblade margin 20 to torm a point at 300 rather than a chisel edge such asis shown at 30 in FIG. 1. In all constructions, the chisel edges 30 havea very substantial horizontal extent transversely of the blade.

The generally horizontal top margin 32 of the scraper blade 10 isspanned by the bed portion 34 of a bracket 36 which has its terminalportions 38 and 40 brought together at opposite sides of the blade 10and connected as by rivets 42. It will, of course, be understood thatthe invention is not concerned with the question as to whether rivets orspot welding connects the parts.

Before the bracket is attached to the blade, a bolt 44 is mountedtherein to project upwardly from the bed portion 34 and to receive afastening device such as the wing nut 46. At equal radial distances fromthe bolt and preferably at equal angular spacing from each other, thereare protuberances 48 stamped to project upwardly from the bed :34 of thebracket. The handle 50 has a terminal head 52 which desirably is alsoprovided with a chisel edge '54 intersected by a slot 56 of suchdimensions as to receive the bolt 44. in order to receive the severalprotuberances 48, the terminal head 52 of handle 50 is provided withsockets 58, the arrangement being such that when the handle is turnedright side up (it is shown inverted in FIG. 6), it may be engaged withblade 10 to project laterally at either side of the blade or to extendrearwardly in alignment with the plane of the blade, as in FIG. 4.

Because of the slot 56 and the relatively slight projection ofprotubcrances 48, it is not necessary to remove the wing nut 46 for thepurpose of attaching or dismantling the blade. If the nut is turned toraise it to the position of FIG. 5 from the position of FIG. 1, thehandle may readily be removed or replaced. A relatively slightmanipulation of the nut will either lock the handle securely as in FIGS.1, 2 and 4 or will release it tor storage or for independent use as achisel, the parts being shown in separated positions in FIGS 5 and 6.

In using the device to dislodge snow or slush from the path of a vehiclewheel, the sharpened scraping edges 18 of the reinforcing shoes orscrapers 12 and 14 will be found very advantageous. If the device iscarried knocked down in a tool kit, .only a moments time is required toassemble the handle to the blade in the desired position tor use.

If it be desired to employ a short chisel tor removing ice, the terminalhead 52 of the handle will provide such a chisel without necessitatingassembly of the handle to the blade. For a longer chisel or one whichmay be swung from side to side, the handle is assembled to the 3 bladeand the chisel surfaces 30 of the shoe portions 22 of the device areemployed.

It is particularly to be noted that in the preferred :01- ganization ofthe parts, the chisel edge 54 of the terminal head 52 of the handle willnormally lie behind the margin :of bracket 36 as best shown in FIG. 2and FIG. 4.

I claim:

l. A tool for scraping and chopping snow and the like from the .path ofthe wheel of a parked vehicle, said tool comprising a handle, asubstantially planiforrn blade connected with the handle and havingpavement-contacting shoe means along its lower margin projectingontwardly firom both faces of the blade and formed to provide a broadhorizontal chisel-shaped .apex at the forward end of the blade andtoward which said blade has a forward extension with an upper marginapproaching said apex :at an acute angle, said shoe means comprisingsheet metal strips of transversely concave torm connected in facecontact with the blade along their upper margins and having their lowermargins directed oppositely from the plane of the blade.

2. A tool according to claim 1 in which the sheet metal strips havegenerally triangular front end portions with flanges transverselyconvergent toward said blade and welded to said blade to constitute saidchisel-shaped apex.

"3. A tool for scraping and chopping snow and the like from the path ofthe wheel of a parked vehicle, said tool comprising a handle, asubstantially planiform blade connected with the handle and havingpavement-contacting shoe means along its lower margin projectingoutwardly from both faces of the blade and formed to provide a broadhorizontal chisel-shaped apex at the forward end of the blade and towardwhich said blade has a forward extension with an upper marginapproaching said apex at an acute angle the blade being provided with abracket with which the handle is detachably connected, the handle havinga terminal head engaged with the bracket and provided with a chisel edgeand a slot intermediate the ends of such edge, the bracket having a boltreceivable into the slot and provided at their forward end-s withtransverse flanges mutually convergent toward each other and theintervening blade and provided with a nut engaged with the handle head.

4. A tool according to claim -3 in which the handle head and the bracketare respectively provided with complementary protnberances and sockets,t-he protuberance's being engaged in the sockets and assisting in keyingthe handle to the blade when the handle head is engaged by said nut.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 323,730 8/85Phil-lips 3753 612,125 10/98 Shigley 30626 1,228,935 6/17 Lilpak ka.1,510,770 10/24 Edel 172372 1,658,312 2/28 Trimble. 2,463,150 3/49 Camp3753 X 2,941,228 6/ 60 Ritter 30612 2,958,143 11/60 Bonic 37-533,088,230 5/63 Bonic 37-53 FOREIGN PATENTS 14, 145 1/ 1 1 Denmark.

BENJAMIN HERSH, Primary Examiner.

1. A TOOL FOR SCARPING AND CHOPPING SNOW AND THE LIKE FROM THE PATH OFTHE WHEEL OF A PARKED VEHICLE, SAID TOOL COMPRISING A HANDLE, ASUBSTANTIALLY PLANIFORM BLADE CONNECTED WITH THE HANDLE AND HAVINGPAVEMENT-CONTACTING SHOE MEANS ALONG ITS LOWER MARGIN PROJECTINGOUTWARDLY FROM BOTH FACES OF THE BLADE AND FORMED TO PROVIDE A BROADHORIZONTAL CHISEL-SHAPED APEX AT THE FORWARD END OF THE BLADE AND TOWARDWHICH SAID BLADE HAS A FORWARD EXTENSION WITH AN UPPER MARGINAPPROACHING SAID APEX AT AN ACUTE ANGLE, SAID SHOE MEANS COMPRISINGSHEET METAL STRIPS OF TRANSVERSELY CONCAVE FORM CONNECTED IN FACECONTACT WITH THE BLADE ALONG THEIR UPPER MARGINS AND HAVING THEIR LOWERMARGINS DIRECTED OPPOSITELY FROM THE PLANE OF THE BLADE.